Human monoclonal antibodies broadly protective against influenza B virus and methods of using the same

ABSTRACT

Materials and methods are provided for treating influenza B infections in humans. Anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof having a neutralization activity against a human influenza B virus are provided. Methods for producing anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibodies are also provided. The antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof can be effective against a wide range of influenza B viral strains. Methods of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection are provided. The anti-influenza B therapeutics can also be used to manufacture medicaments effective against influenza B infections, to detect human influenza B in a human subject, for use in pharmaceutical compositions, and for use in kits for at least one of the prevention, the treatment, and the detection of human influenza B in a human subject.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING

The subject matter described herein was supported, at least in part, by the Japan Science and Technology Agency/Japan International Cooperation Agency, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (JST/JICA, SATREPS); and a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to Mayo Yasugi.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/000538 filed Jan. 31, 2013, claiming priority based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/592,657 filed Jan. 31, 2012, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to materials and methods for the treatment of influenza B viral infections in humans.

BACKGROUND ART

The ability of influenza virus to evade immune surveillance through rapid genetic drift and reassortment means that it remains a continuous public health threat. During annual epidemics five to fifteen percent of the worldwide population are typically infected, resulting in three million to five million cases of severe illness and between 250,000 to 500,000 deaths per year (Lambert et al., The New England Journal of Medicine 363:2036-2044; WHO, Influenza (Seasonal) Fact Sheet No. 211). Influenza B virus, like H1 and H3 subtypes of influenza A virus, has caused epidemics in humans (WHO, Influence (Seasonal) Fact Sheet No. 211). In contrast to influenza A, influenza B virus is found almost exclusively in humans and has a much slower mutational rate than that observed for influenza A virus (Carrat et al., Vaccine 25:6852-6862; Nobusawa et al., Journal of Virology 80:3675-3678; Webster et al, The Journal of General Virology 54:243-251). However, co-circulation of two phylogenetically and antigenically distinct lineages, represented by the B/Yamagata/16/88 and B/Victoria/2/87, has caused antigenic variation through genetic reassortment and antigenic drift from cumulative mutations, leading to annual endemics (Hay et al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 356:1861-1870; Lin et al., Virus Research 103:47-52).

The development of vaccines producing broadly reactive antibodies and therapeutic strategies using human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs) with global reactivity has recently been gathering great interest. Neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) have been widely used for the treatment of influenza viral infection. However, they have limited efficacy when administered more than 48 hours after the onset of illness (Aoki et al., The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 51: 123-129), and widespread use has resulted in the emergence of resistant viral strains (Kiso et al, Lancet 364:759-765; Lowen et al., Infectious Disorders Drug Targets 7:318-328; Reece, Journal of Medical Virology 79:1577-1586). Therefore, new therapeutic strategies that provide potent and broadly cross-protective host immunity are a global public health priority. Thus, the development of novel antibody-based therapies is of great interest (Marasco et al., Nature Biotechnology 25:1421-1434).

Several human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs) with broad neutralizing activities were identified against the hemagglutinin (HA) protein in influenza A viruses, including C6261 and F10, which react with group 1 viruses (Ekiert et al., Science 324:246-251; Sui et al., Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 16:265-273), and CR8020, which neutralizes group 2 viruses (Ekiert et al., Science 333:843-850). Another HuMAb, FI6v3, which neutralized both group 1 and group 2 influenza A viruses, was isolated in 2011 (Corti et al., Science 333: 850-856). Although influenza B virus has a much slower mutational rate than that observed for influenza A virus like H1 and H3 subtypes, it has annually caused epidemics in humans (NPL1: Hay et al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 256:1861-1870; NPL2: Lin et al., Virus Research 103:47-52). For influenza B virus, however, broadly neutralizing HuMAbs, CR8033, CR8071 and CR9114, have firstly reported on September 2012 (NPL3: Dreyfus et al., Science 337: 1343-1348). Accordingly, a need exists for broadly neutralizing HuMAb against the influenza B virus.

CITATION LIST Non Patent Literature

-   [NPL 1] Hay et al., Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2001 Dec.     29; 356(1416): 1861-1870. -   [NPL 2] Lin et al., Virus Res. 2004 July; 103(1-2):47-52. -   [NPL 3] Dreyfus et al., Science. 2012 Sep. 14; 337(6100):1343-8.     doi: 10.1126/science.1222908. Epub 2012 Aug. 9.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the current study, three HuMAbs were prepared that broadly reacted to the HA protein in influenza B virus. Three HuMAbs designated 5A7, 3A2, and 10C4 against influenza B virus were prepared using peripheral lymphocytes from vaccinated volunteers. In vitro, HuMAb 5A7 broadly neutralized influenza B strains isolated from 1985 to 2006, whereas 3A2 and 10C4 reacted to the Yamagata lineage only. Epitope mapping revealed that 3A2 and 10C4 recognized the 190-helix region near the receptor binding site in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. Amino acid residues of the 190-helix readily mutate. 5A7 recognized amino acid positions 315 to 324 near the C terminal of HA1, a highly conserved region in influenza B viruses. Moreover, 5A7 showed therapeutic efficacy in mice even if HuMAb was injected 72 hours post-infection. HuMAb 5A7 synthesized from full-length variable gene-transfected CHO-K1 cells also showed neutralizing activity against influenza B viruses. These results indicate that the antibodies of the invention, including 5A7, can be used as therapeutics against influenza B virus.

It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide therapeutics including antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof capable of preventing, inhibiting, and treating an influenza B infection.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide methods for producing such therapeutics.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide therapeutics effective against a wide range of influenza B viral strains.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. The objectives and other advantages of the present invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the description and appended claims.

Solution to Problem

To achieve these and other advantages, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention relates to an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or an antigen-binding fragment thereof having a neutralization activity against a human influenza B virus, wherein the monoclonal antibody can include a human monoclonal antibody and/or a humanized monoclonal antibody.

The present invention provides a method for producing an anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody. The method can include producing a hybridoma by fusing a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from a human being, for example a patient and/or a vaccine in an influenza B virus infection with a fusion partner cell capable of efficient cell fusion. The method can also include obtaining an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody from the hybridoma. The influenza B virus in the method can include at least one of a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002/strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and B/Victoria/2/1987 strain. The fusion partner cell is a SPYMEG cell. Thus, an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody produced by the method is further provided.

The present invention provides a method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject including administering a therapeutically effective amount of the anti-human influenza B virus human antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the invention to the human subject. The method can further include diagnosing the patient with an influenza B infection. The method can further include monitoring for a decrease in at least one symptom of an influenza B infection.

The present invention provides use of an anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention to manufacture a medicament for inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject. The present invention also provides a method of detecting human influenza B in a human subject including contacting a sample from the human subject with an anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the invention. The present invention further provides a pharmaceutical composition containing an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention and a pharmacologically acceptable carrier. The present invention still further provides a kit for at least one of the prevention, the treatment, and the detection of human influenza B in a human subject containing an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention. The kit can include the pharmaceutical composition and/or one or more additional influenza B or other antagonists.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate some of the embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the sequences of escape mutants selected by the incubation of B/Florida/4/2006 with HuMAbs. The amino acid sequences of the HA protein in the escape mutants are compared with the original B/Florida/4/2006. Asterisks indicate the amino acid residues different between the original virus and the escape mutants.

FIG. 2 shows a series of truncated forms of HA (a to 0 in an expression plasmid, which were prepared as depicted in the diagram. Transfected 293T cells were subjected to Western blotting with 5A7. The serum from a mouse infected with B/Ibaraki/2/1985 was used as a control (Ms serum).

FIG. 3 shows expression plasmids bearing chimeric HA protein prepared with B/Shanghai/361/2002 (Sh/02) and B/Florida/4/2006 (Flo/06). 293T cells expressing the chimeric protein were subjected to an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with 3A2 (left panels). White bars represent the amino acid sequence in Sh/02, and black bars represent the amino acid sequence in Flo/06. The different amino acid residues in the HA protein from each of the two viral strains are shown in the top and bottom bars.

FIG. 4 shows an epitope map of the HuMAbs in three-dimensional structure of the HA protein.

FIG. 5 shows the therapeutic efficacy of 5A7 in mice. Mice were treated intraperitoneally with HuMAb at 5, 10, or 15 mg/kg or with PBS at 4 hours post-challenge with a lethal dose (2.5×10⁴ FFU/mouse) of mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985. Survival and body weight were checked daily. Each group consists of five mice. Body weight is shown as the mean+ or −SEM of five mice.

FIG. 6 shows the therapeutic efficacy of 5A7 in mice. Mice were treated intraperitoneally with HuMAb at 5, 10, or 15 mg/kg or with PBS at 4 hours post-challenge with a lethal dose (2.5×10⁴ FFU/mouse) of mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985. Survival and body weight were checked daily. Each group consists of five mice. Body weight is shown as the mean+ or −SEM of five mice.

FIG. 7 shows mice treated with 5A7 at 10 mg/kg or with PBS at 4 hours post-challenge with 2.5×10⁴ FFU/mouse mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 (left panel) and 5.0×10³ FFU/mouse B/Florida/4/2006 (right panel). The titers in lungs were calculated at 3 and 6 days post-infection. Each group consists of three mice. Black bars are mean values. Asterisks denote P<0.05 compared to the PBS-treated group.

FIG. 8 shows that mice were given 10 mg/kg HuMAb or PBS at 4, 24, 48, or 72 hours post-infection (hpi) with mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 (2.5×10⁴ FFU/mouse). Survival and body weight were checked daily. Each group consists of ten mice. Body weight is shown as the mean+ or −SEM of ten mice.

FIG. 9 shows that mice were given 10 mg/kg HuMAb or PBS at 4, 24, 48, or 72 hours post-infection (hpi) with mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 (2.5×10⁴ FFU/mouse). Survival and body weight were checked daily. Each group consists of ten mice. Body weight is shown as the mean+ or −SEM of ten mice.

FIG. 10 shows an in vitro neutralization assay using synthesized 5A7 from CHO-K1 cells. The infectivity of B/Florida/4/2006 and B/Malaysia/2506/2004 were measured in the presence of synthesized 5A7 from CHO-K1 (5A7/CHO; solid lines) and compared with infectivity in the presence of 5A7 from hybridoma supernatant (5A7/hybridoma; dashed lines). HuMAbs (100 mcg/ml (microgram/nil)) were serially diluted four-fold.

FIG. 11 shows sequences of the V_(H) and V_(L) region of the three HuMAbs. These three HuMAbs were derived from different germ lines except D region V_(H) of 3A2 and 10C4.

FIG. 12 shows sequences of the V_(H) and V_(L) region of the three HuMAbs. These three HuMAbs were derived from different germ lines except D region V_(H) of 3A2 and 10C4.

FIG. 13 shows sequences of the V_(H) and V_(L) region of the three HuMAbs. These three HuMAbs were derived from different germ lines except D region V_(H) of 3A2 and 10C4. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate specific features/embodiments of the present invention, and taken in conjunction with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are intended to provide a further explanation of the present invention, as claimed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Detailed Description of the Present Invention

The present invention provides an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or an antigen-binding fragment thereof having a neutralization activity against a human influenza B virus, wherein the monoclonal antibody includes a human monoclonal antibody and/or a humanized monoclonal antibody. The monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof can have a neutralization activity against at least a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, and a B/Mie/1/1993 strain. The monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof can have a neutralization activity against at least a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and a B/Victoria/2/1987 strain. The anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof can include an IgG, a Fab, a Fab′, a F(ab′)2, a scFv, a dsFv, or any combination thereof.

The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof can include at least one heavy chain variable region and/or at least one light chain variable region. The heavy chain variable region can include at least one of a first complementarity determining region (CDR1), a second complementarity determining region (CDR2), and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3). The CDR1 of the heavy chain variable region can have a first amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO: 1, 7, or 13. The CDR2 of the heavy chain variable region can have a second amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO: 2, 8, or 14. The CDR3 of the heavy chain variable region can have a third amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO: 3, 9, or 15. The light chain variable region can also include at least one of a first complementarity determining region (CDR1), a second complementarity determining region (CDR2), and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3). The CDR1 of the light chain variable region can have a fourth amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO: 4, 10, or 16. The CDR2 of the light chain variable region can have a fifth amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO: 5, 11, or 17. The CDR3 of the light chain variable region can have a sixth amino acid sequence including SEQ ID NO: 6, 12, or 18.

The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment can have the first amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 1, the second amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 2, the third amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 3, the fourth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 4, the fifth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 5, and the sixth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 6. For example, the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody can include antibody 5A7. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof can have the first amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 7, the second amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 8, the third amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 9, the fourth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 10, the fifth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 11 and the sixth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 12. For example, the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody can include antibody 3A2. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof can have the first amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 13, the second amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 14, the third amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 15, the fourth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 16, the fifth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 17, and the sixth amino acid sequence include SEQ ID NO: 18. For example, the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody can include antibody 10C4.

The monoclonal antibody can be produced by a hybridoma made by fusing a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from a human being, for example a patient and/or a vaccine having an influenza B virus infection with a fusion partner cell capable of efficient cell fusion. The influenza B virus of the infection can include at least one of a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and a B/Victoria/2/1987 strain. The fusion partner cell can be a SPYMEG cell.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for producing an anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody. The method can include producing a hybridoma by fusing a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from a human being, for example a patient and/or a vaccine in an influenza B virus infection with a fusion partner cell capable of efficient cell fusion. The method can also include obtaining an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody from the hybridoma. The influenza B virus in the method can include at least one of a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and B/Victoria/2/1987 strain. The fusion partner cell can be a SPYMEG cell. Thus, an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody produced by the method is further provided. The monoclonal antibody can include, for example, a human monoclonal antibody and/or a humanized monoclonal antibody.

Anti-influenza antibodies and polypeptides containing antigen binding fragments thereof are provided as well as methods, uses, compositions, and kits employing the same. A method of forming an antibody specific to an influenza or a polypeptide or a fragment thereof is provided. Such a method can contain providing a nucleic acid encoding a influenza antigen polypeptide or a polypeptide containing an immunologically specific epitope thereof; expressing the polypeptide containing the antigen amino acid sequence or a polypeptide containing an immunologically specific epitope thereof from the isolated nucleic acid; and generating an antibody specific to the polypeptide obtained or a polypeptide containing an antigen binding fragment thereof. An antibody or polypeptide containing an antigen binding fragment thereof produced by the aforementioned method is provided. An isolated antibody or isolated polypeptide containing an antigen binding fragment thereof that specifically binds an influenza antigen is provided. Such an antibody can be generated using any acceptable method(s) known in the art. The antibodies as well as kits, methods, and/or other aspects of the present invention employing antibodies can include one or more of the following: a polyclonal antibody, a monoclonal antibody, a chimeric antibody, a single-chain antibody, a monovalent antibody, a diabody, and/or a humanized antibody.

Naturally occurring antibody structural units typically contain a tetramer. Each such tetramer can be composed of two identical pairs of polypeptide chains, each pair having one full-length light” (for example, about 25 kDa) and one full-length “heavy” chain (for example, about 50-70 kDa). The amino-terminal portion of each chain typically includes a variable region of about 100 to 110 or more amino acids that typically is responsible for antigen recognition. The carboxy-terminal portion of each chain typically defines a constant region that may be responsible for effector function. Human light chains are typically classified as kappa and lambda light chains. Heavy chains are typically classified as mu, delta, gamma, alpha, or epsilon, and define the antibody's isotype as IgM, IgD, IgG, IgA, and IgE, respectively. IgG has several subclasses, including, but not limited to, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4. IgM has subclasses including, but not limited to, IgM1 and IgM2. IgA is similarly subdivided into subclasses including, but not limited to, IgA1 and IgA2. In light and heavy chains, the variable and constant regions can be joined by a “J” region of about 12 or more amino acids, with the heavy chain also including a “D” region of about 10 or more amino acids. See, e.g., Fundamental Immunology Ch. 7 (Paul, W., ed., 2nd ed. Raven Press, N.Y. (1989)) (incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes). The variable regions of each light/heavy chain pair typically form the antigen binding site.

The variable regions typically exhibit the same general structure of relatively conserved framework regions (FR) joined by three hyper variable regions, also called complementarity determining regions or CDRs. The CDRs from the two chains of each pair typically are aligned by the framework regions, which can enable binding to a specific epitope. From N-terminal to C-terminal, both light and heavy chain variable regions typically contain the domains FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3 and FR4. The assignment of amino acids to each domain is typically in accordance with the definitions of Kabat Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1987 and 1991)), or Chothia & Lesk J. MoI. Biol. 196:901-917 (1987); Chothia et al., Nature 342:878-883 (1989).

“Antibody fragments” include a portion of an intact antibody, such as the antigen binding or variable region of the intact antibody. Examples of antibody fragments include Fab, Fab 1, F(ab′)2, and Fv fragments; diabodies; linear antibodies (Zapata et al., Protein Eng. 8(10): 1057-1062 [1995]); single-chain antibody molecules; and multispecific antibodies formed from antibody fragments. Papain digestion of antibodies produces two identical antigen-binding fragments, called “Fab” fragments, each with a single antigen-binding site, and a residual “Fc” fragment, a designation reflecting the ability to crystallize readily. Pepsin treatment yields an F(ab′)2 fragment that has two antigen-combining sites and is still capable of cross-linking antigen. “Fv” is an antibody fragment which contains a complete antigen-recognition and -binding site. This region includes a dimer of one heavy- and one light-chain variable domain in tight, non-covalent association. A single variable domain (or half of an Fv containing only three CDRs specific for an antigen) can recognize and bind an antigen. “Single-chain Fv” or “sFv” antibody fragments include the V_(H) and V_(L) domains of the antibody, wherein these domains are present in a single polypeptide chain. The Fv polypeptide can further contain a polypeptide linker between the V_(H) and V_(L) domains which enables the sFv to form the desired structure for antigen binding. For a review of sFv, see Pluckthun in The Pharmacology of Monoclonal Antibodies, vol. 113, Rosenburg and Moore eds., Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 269-315 (1994).

Antibodies can be used as probes, therapeutic treatments and other uses. Antibodies can be made by injecting mice, rabbits, goats, or other animals with the translated product or synthetic peptide fragments thereof. These antibodies are useful in diagnostic assays or as an active ingredient in a pharmaceutical composition.

The antibody or polypeptide administered can be conjugated to a functional agent to form an immunoconguate. The functional agent can be a cytotoxic agent such as a chemotherapeutic agent, a toxin (e.g., an enzymatically active toxin of bacterial, fungal, plant, or animal origin, or fragments thereof), or a radioactive isotope (i.e., a radioconjugate), an antibiotic, a nucleolytic enzyme, or any combination thereof. Chemotherapeutic agents can be used in the generation of immunoconjugates, e.g., methotrexate, adriamicin, vinca alkaloids (vincristine, vinblastine, etoposide), doxorubicin, melphalan, mitomycin C, chlorambucil, daunorubicin or other intercalating agents, enzymes, and/or fragments thereof, such as nucleolytic enzymes, antibiotics, and toxins such as small molecule toxins or enzymatically active toxins of bacterial, fungal, plant or animal origin, including fragments and/or variants thereof, and the various antitumor or anticancer agents disclosed below. Enzymatically active toxins and fragments thereof that can be used include, for example, diphtheria A chain, nonbinding active fragments of diphtheria toxin, exotoxin A chain (from Pseudomonas aeruginosa), ricin A chain, abrin A chain, modeccin A chain, alpha-sarcin, Aleurites fordii proteins, dianthin proteins, Phytolaca americana proteins (PAPI, PAPII, and PAP-S), momordica charantia inhibitor, curcin, crotin, sapaonaria officinalis inhibitor, gelonin, mitogellin, restrictocin, phenomycin, enomycin, and the tricotheeenes. Any appropriate radionucleotide or radioactive agent known in the art or are otherwise available can be used to produce radioconjugated antibodies.

Conjugates of the antibody and cytotoxic agent can be made using a variety of bifunctional protein-coupling agents such as N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithiol)propionate (SPDP); iminothiolane (IT); bifunctional derivatives of imidoesters (such as dimethyl adipimidate HCL); active esters (such as disuccinimidyl suberate); aldehydes (such as glutareldehyde); bis-azido compounds (such as bis(p-azidobenzoyl) hexanediamine); bis-diazonium derivatives (such as bis-(p-diazo-niumbenzoyl)-ethylenediamine); diisocyanates (such as tolyene 2,6-diisocyanate); bis-active fluorine compounds (such as 1,5-difluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene); maleimidocaproyl (MC); valine-citrulline, dipeptide site in protease cleavable linker (VC); 2-amino-5-ureido pentanoic acid PAB=p-aminobenzylcarbamoyl (“self immolative” portion of linker) (Citrulene); N-methyl-valine citrulline where the linker peptide bond has been modified to prevent its cleavage by cathepsin B (Me); maleimidocaproyl-polyethylene glycol, attached to antibody cysteines; N-Succinimidyl 4-(2-pyridylthio)pentanoate (SPP); and N-succinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1 carboxylate (SMCC). For example, a ricin immunotoxin can be prepared as described in Vitetta et al., Science, 238: 1098 (1987). Carbon-14-labeled 1-isothiocyanatobenzyl-3-methyldiethylene triaminepentaacctic acid (MX-DTPA) is an exemplary chelating agent for conjugation of radionucleotide to the antibody, see WO 94/11026. The antibody can be conjugated to a “receptor” (such as streptavidin) for utilization in tumor pre-targeting wherein the antibody-receptor conjugate is administered to the subject, followed by removal of unbound conjugate from the circulation using a clearing agent and then administration of a “ligand” (e.g., avidin) that is conjugated to a cytotoxic agent (e.g., a radionucleotide).

The antibodies of the present invention can be coupled directly or indirectly to a detectable marker by techniques well known in the art. A detectable marker is an agent detectable, for example, by spectroscopic, photochemical, biochemical, immunochemical, or chemical means. Useful detectable markers include, but are not limited to, fluorescent dyes, chemiluminescent compounds, radioisotopes, electron-dense reagents, enzymes, colored particles, biotin, or dioxigenin. A detectable marker often generates a measurable signal, such as radioactivity, fluorescent light, color, or enzyme activity. Antibodies conjugated to detectable agents may be used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Examples of detectable agents include various enzymes, prosthetic groups, fluorescent materials, luminescent materials, bioluminescent materials, radioactive materials, positron emitting metals using various positron emission tomographies, and nonradioactive paramagnetic metal ions. The detectable substance can be coupled or conjugated either directly to the antibody or indirectly, through an intermediate such as, for example, a linker known in the art, using techniques known in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,900, describing the conjugation of metal ions to antibodies for diagnostic use. Examples of suitable enzymes include horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, and acetyl-cholinesterase; examples of suitable prosthetic group complexes include streptavidin/biotin and avidin/biotin; examples of suitable fluorescent materials include umbelliferone, fluorescein, fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine, dichlorotriazinylamine fluorescein, dansyl chloride, and phycoerythrin; an example of a luminescent material includes luminol; examples of bioluminescent materials include luciferin, and aequorin.

Antibodies useful in practicing the present invention can be prepared in laboratory animals or by recombinant DNA techniques using the following methods. Polyclonal antibodies can be raised in animals by multiple subcutaneous (sc) or intraperitoneal (ip) injections of the gene product molecule or fragment thereof in combination with an adjuvant such as Freund's adjuvant (complete or incomplete). To enhance immuno-genicity, it can be useful to first conjugate the gene product molecule or a fragment containing the target amino acid sequence to a protein that is immunogenic in the species to be immunized, e.g., keyhole limpet hemocyanin, serum albumin, bovine thyroglobulin, or soybean trypsin inhibitor using a bifunctional or derivatizing agent, for example, maleimidobenzoyl sulfosuccinimide ester (conjugation through cysteine residues), N-hydroxysuccinimide (through lysine residues), glutaraldehyde, succinic anhydride, SOCl, etc. Alternatively, immunogenic conjugates can be produced recombinantly as fusion proteins.

Animals can be immunized against the immunogenic conjugates or derivatives (such as a fragment containing the target amino acid sequence) by combining about 1 mg or about 1 microgram of conjugate (for rabbits or mice, respectively) with about 3 volumes of Freund's complete adjuvant and injecting the solution intradermally at multiple sites. Approximately 7 to 14 days later, animals are bled and the serum is assayed for antibody titer. Animals are boosted with antigen repeatedly until the titer plateaus. The animal can be boosted with the same molecule or fragment thereof as was used for the initial immunization, but conjugated to a different protein and/or through a different cross-linking agent. In addition, aggregating agents such as alum can be used in the injections to enhance the immune response.

The antibody administered can include a chimeric antibody. The antibody administered can include a humanized antibody. The antibody administered can include a completely humanized antibody. The antibodies can be humanized or partially humanized. Non-human antibodies can be humanized using any applicable method known in the art. A humanized antibody can be produced using a transgenic animal whose immune system has been partly or fully humanized. Any antibody or fragment thereof of the present invention can be partially or fully humanized. Chimeric antibodies can be produced using any known technique in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,169,939; 5,750,078; 6,020,153; 6,420,113; 6,423,511; 6,632,927; and 6,800,738.

The antibody administered can include a monoclonal antibody, that is, the anti-influenza antibodies of the present invention that can be monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies can be prepared using hybridoma methods, such as those described by Kohler and Milstein, Nature, 256:495 (1975). In a hybridoma method, a mouse, hamster, or other appropriate host animal, is typically immunized with an immunizing agent to elicit lymphocytes that produce or are capable of producing antibodies that will specifically bind to the immunizing agent. Alternatively, the lymphocytes can be immunized in vitro. Monoclonal antibodies can be screened as are described, for example, in Harlow & Lane, Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, New York (1988); Goding, Monoclonal Antibodies, Principles and Practice (2d ed.) Academic Press, New York (1986). Monoclonal antibodies can be tested for specific immunoreactivity with a translated product and lack of immunoreactivity to the corresponding prototypical gene product.

Monoclonal antibodies can be prepared by recovering spleen cells from immunized animals and immortalizing the cells in conventional fashion, e.g., by fusion with myeloma cells. The clones are then screened for those expressing the desired antibody. The monoclonal antibody preferably does not cross-react with other gene products. After the desired hybridoma cells are identified, the clones can be subcloned by limiting dilution procedures and grown by standard methods. Suitable culture media for this purpose include, for example, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium and RPMI-1640 medium. Alternatively, the hybridoma cells can be grown in vivo as ascites in a mammal. The monoclonal antibodies secreted by the subclones can be isolated or purified from the culture medium or ascites fluid by conventional immunoglobulin purification procedures such as, for example, protein A-Sepharose, hydroxylapatite chromatography, gel electrophoresis, dialysis, or affinity chromatography.

The monoclonal antibodies can also be made by recombinant DNA methods, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567. DNA encoding the monoclonal antibodies of the present invention can be readily isolated and sequenced using conventional procedures (e.g., by using oligonucleotide probes that are capable of binding specifically to genes encoding the heavy and light chains of murine antibodies). The hybridoma cells of the present invention can serve as a preferred source of such DNA. Once isolated, the DNA can be placed into expression vectors, which are then transfected into host cells such as simian COS cells, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, or myeloma cells that do not otherwise produce immunoglobulin protein, to obtain the synthesis of monoclonal antibodies in the recombinant host cells. The DNA also can be modified, for example, by substituting the coding sequence for human heavy and light chain constant domains in place of the homologous murine sequences or by covalently joining to the immunoglobulin coding sequence all or part of the coding sequence for a non-immunoglobulin polypeptide. Such a non-immunoglobulin polypeptide can be substituted for the constant domains of an antibody of the present invention, or can be substituted for the variable domains of one antigen-combining site of an antibody of the invention to create a chimeric bivalent antibody. Preparation of antibodies using recombinant DNA methods such as the phagemid display method, can be accomplished using commercially available kits, as for example, the Recombinant Phagemid Antibody System available from Pharmacia (Uppsala, Sweden), or the SurfZAP™ phage display system (Stratagene Inc., La Jolla, Calif.).

Also included in the present invention are hybridoma cell lines, transformed B cell lines, and host cells that produce the monoclonal antibodies of the present invention; the progeny or derivatives of these hybridomas, transformed B cell lines, and host cells; and equivalent or similar hybridomas, transformed B cell lines, and host cells.

The antibodies can be diabodies. The term “diabodies’ refers to small antibody fragments with two antigen-binding sites, which fragments include a heavy-chain variable domain (V_(H)) connected to a light-chain variable domain (V_(L)) in the same polypeptide chain (Vn-V_(L)). By using a linker that is too short to allow pairing between the two domains on the same chain, the domains can be forced to pair with the complementary domains of another chain and create two antigen-binding sites. Diabodies are described more fully in, for example, EP 404,097; WO 93/11161; and Hollinger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90:6444-6448 (1993).

The antibody administered can include a single-chain antibody. The antibodies can be monovalent antibodies. Methods for preparing monovalent antibodies are well known in the art. For example, one method involves recombinant expression of immunoglobulin light chain and modified heavy chain. The heavy chain can be truncated generally at any point in the Fc region so as to prevent heavy chain crosslinking. Alternatively, the relevant cysteine residues are substituted with another amino acid residue or are deleted so as to prevent crosslinking. In vitro methods are also suitable for preparing monovalent antibodies. Digestion of antibodies to produce fragments thereof, particularly, Fab fragments, can be accomplished using routine techniques known in the art.

The antibodies can be bispecific. Bispecific antibodies that specifically bind to one protein and that specifically bind to other antigens relevant to pathology and/or treatment are produced, isolated, and tested using standard procedures that have been described in the literature. [See, e.g., Pluckthun & Pack, Immunotechnology, 3:83-105 (1997); Carter, et al., J. Hematotherapy, 4:463-470 (1995); Renner & Pfreundschuh, Immunological Reviews, 1995, No. 145, pp. 179-209; Pfreundschuh U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,759; Segal, et al., J. Hematotherapy, 4:377-382 (1995); Segal, et al., Immunobiology, 185:390-402 (1992); and Bolhuis, et al., Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 34:1-8 (1991)].

The antibodies disclosed herein can be formulated as immunoliposomes. Liposomes containing the antibody are prepared by methods known in the art. such as described in Epstein et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82: 3688 (1985); Hwang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77: 4030 (1980); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,485,045 and 4,544,545. Liposomes with enhanced circulation time are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,556. Particularly useful liposomes can be generated by the reverse-phase evaporation method with a lipid composition containing phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and PEG-derivatized phosphatidylethanolamine (PEG-PE). Liposomes can be extruded through filters of defined pore size to yield liposomes with the desired diameter. Fab′ fragments of the antibody of the present invention can be conjugated to the liposomes as described in Martin et al., J. Biol. Chem., 257:286-288 (1982) via a disulfide-interchange reaction. A chemotherapeutic agent (such as Doxorubicin) is optionally contained within the liposome. See Gabizon et al, J. National Cancer Inst., 81(19): 1484 (1989).

The influenza antagonist can include an aptamer that binds the hemagglutinin (HA) protein of an influenza B virus. The aptamer can bind HA in the same location/epitope as the antibodies described herein and/or to other locations/epitopes. The aptamer can contain one or more of a nucleic acid, a RNA, a DNA, and an amino acid. Aptamers can be selected and produced using any suitable technique or protocol. For example, oligonucleotide libraries with variable regions ranging from 18 to 50 nucleotides in length can be used as templates for run-off transcription reactions to generate random pools of RNA aptamers. This aptamer pool can then be exposed to unconjugated matrix to remove non-specific interacting species. The remaining pool is then incubated with an immobilized target. The majority of aptamer species in this pool can have low affinity, for the target can be washed away leaving a smaller, more specific pool bound to the matrix. This pool can then be eluted, precipitated, reverse transcribed, and used as a template for run-off transcription. After five rounds of selection, aliquots can be removed that are cloned and sequenced. Selection can be continued until similar sequences are reproducibly recovered.

Aptamer production can be performed using a bead-based selection system. In this process, a library of beads is generated in which each bead is coated with a population of aptamers with identical sequences composed of natural and modified nucleotides. This bead library, which can contain greater than 100,000,000 unique sequences, can be incubated with a peptide that corresponds to hemagglutinin (HA) protein, or a portion thereof, e.g., an extracellular domain, that is conjugated with a tag such as a fluorescent dye. After washing, beads that demonstrate the highest binding affinity can be isolated and aptamer sequences can be determined for subsequent synthesis.

The present invention provides a method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject including administering a therapeutically effective amount of the anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the invention to the human subject. The method can further include diagnosing the patient with an influenza B infection. Anti-influenza antibodies or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention can be administered to a subject before, during, and/or after diagnosing the patient as having an influenza infection.

The method can further include monitoring for a decrease in at least one symptom of an influenza B infection. For example, the at least one symptom can include fever, headache, fatigue, chills, malaise, myalgia, arthralgia, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, respiratory distress, stomach pain, or any combination thereof. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding administered in combination with one or more additional therapies directed to influenza B and/or other influenzas such as influenza A and/or influenza C. The combination can act synergistically to inhibit or treat the influenza B infection. The one or more additional therapies can include, for example, a neuraminidase inhibitor, a hemagglutinin inhibitor, an anti-inflammatory agent, or any combination thereof. The neuraminidase inhibitor can include, for example, zanamivir, oseltamivir, peramivir, laninamivir, any pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or any combination thereof.

In accordance with the present invention, two or more influenza antagonists can be administered. At least one of the influenza antagonists can include an influenza B antagonist. The at least one influenza B antagonist can be combined with one or more influenza A antagonists and/or one or more influenza C antagonists. At least one influenza antagonist can be administered in combination with one or more additional therapies directed against an influenza viral infection. The administration of two or more therapies, including one or more influenza antagonists, can be simultaneous, sequential, or in combination. Accordingly, when two or more therapies are administered, they need not be administered simultaneously or in the same way or in the same dose. When administered simultaneously, the two or more therapies can be administered in the same composition or in different compositions. The two or more therapies can be administered using the same route of administration or different routes of administration. When administered at different times, the therapies can be administered before or after each other. Administration order of the two or more therapies can be alternated. The respective doses of the one or more therapies can be varied over time. The type of one or more therapy can be varied over time. When administered at separate times, the separation of the two or more administrations can be any time period. If administered multiple times, the length of the time period can vary. The separation between administration of the two or more two or more therapies can be 0 seconds, 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30, minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2 hours, 2.5 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 7.5 hours, 10 hours, 12 hours, 15 hours, 18 hours, 21 hours, 24 hours, 1.5 days, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 10 days, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, one month, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, three months, six months, 1 year or longer.

Two or more influenza antagonists can act synergistically to treat or reduce an influenza infection or a symptom of the same, for example, fever. An influenza antagonist can be one or more anti-influenza antibody alone or in combination with one or more other influenza antagonist, for example, a small drug pharmaceutical, or other anti-influenza therapy. Two or more anti-influenza antibodies, or at least one anti-influenza antibody and one or more additional therapies can act synergistically to treat or reduce an influenza B viral infection. Two or more therapies, including one or more anti-influenza antibody, can be administered in synergistic amounts. Accordingly, the administration of two or more therapies can have a synergistic effect on the decrease in one or more symptoms of an influenza infection, whether administered simultaneously, sequentially, or in any combination. A first therapy can increase the efficacy of a second therapy greater than if second therapy was employed alone, or a second therapy increases the efficacy of a first therapy, or both. The effect of administering two or more therapies can be such that the effect on decreasing one or more symptoms of an influenza infection is greater than the additive effect of each being administered alone. When given in synergistic amounts, one therapy can enhance the efficacy of one or more other therapy on the decrease in one or more symptoms of an influenza infection, even if the amount of one or more therapy alone would have no substantial effect on one or more symptom of an influenza infection. Measurements and calculations of synergism can be performed as described in Teicher, “Assays for In Vitro and In Vivo Synergy,” in Methods in Molecular Medicine, vol. 85: Novel Anticancer Drug Protocols, pp. 297-321 (2003) and/or by calculating the combination index (CI) using CalcuSyn software.

The present invention provides use of an anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention to manufacture a medicament for inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject. The present invention also provides a method of detecting human influenza B in a human subject. The method can include contacting a sample from the human subject with an anti-human influenza B virus human antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the invention. The method can further include detecting the presence or absence of a human influenza B virus in the human subject based on whether the antibody binds a hemagglutinin (HA) protein of the human influenza B virus. The present invention further provides a pharmaceutical composition containing an anti-human influenza virus human antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention and a pharmacologically acceptable carrier. The present invention still further provides a kit for at least one of the prevention, the treatment, and the detection of human influenza B in a human subject containing an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of the present invention. The kit can include the pharmaceutical composition and/or one or more additional anti-influenza B or other antagonists.

Exact formulation, route of administration and dosage can be chosen by the individual physician in view of the patient's condition. [See, e.g., Fingl et. al., in The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 1975, Ch. 1 p. I.] The attending physician can determine when to terminate, interrupt, or adjust administration due to toxicity, or to organ dysfunctions. Conversely, the attending physician can also adjust treatment to higher levels if the clinical response were not adequate, precluding toxicity. The magnitude of an administrated dose in the management of disorder of interest will vary with the severity of the disorder to be treated and the route of administration. The severity of the disorder can, for example, be evaluated, in part, by standard prognostic evaluation methods. The dose and dose frequency, can vary according to the age, body weight, and response of the individual patient. A program comparable to that discussed above can be used in veterinary medicine.

Use of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers to formulate the compounds herein disclosed for the practice of the invention into dosages suitable for systemic administration is within the scope of the present invention. With proper choice of carrier and suitable manufacturing practice, the compositions relevant to the present invention, in particular, those formulated as solutions, can be administered parenterally, such as by intravenous injection. The compounds can be formulated readily using pharmaceutically acceptable carriers well known in the art into dosages suitable for oral administration. Such carriers enable the compounds relevant to the present invention to be formulated as tablets, pills, capsules, liquids, gels, syrups, slurries, tablets, dragees, solutions, suspensions and the like, for oral ingestion by a patient to be treated.

The therapeutic agent can be prepared in a depot form to allow for release into the body to which it is administered is controlled with respect to time and location within the body (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,150). Depot forms of therapeutic agents can be, for example, an implantable composition containing the therapeutic agent and a porous or non-porous material, such as a polymer, wherein the therapeutic agent is encapsulated by or diffused throughout the material and/or degradation of the non-porous material. The depot is then implanted into the desired location within the body and the therapeutic agent is released from the implant at a predetermined rate.

The therapeutic agent that is used in the present invention can be formed as a composition, such as a pharmaceutical composition containing a carrier and a therapeutic compound. Pharmaceutical compositions containing the therapeutic agent can include more than one therapeutic agent. The pharmaceutical composition can alternatively contain a therapeutic agent in combination with other pharmaceutically active agents or drugs.

The carrier can be any suitable carrier. For example, the carrier can be a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. With respect to pharmaceutical compositions, the carrier can be any of those conventionally used with consideration of chemico-physical considerations, such as solubility and lack of reactivity with the active compound(s), and by the route of administration. In addition to, or in the alternative to, the following described pharmaceutical compositions, the therapeutic compounds of the present inventive methods can be formulated as inclusion complexes, such as cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, or liposomes.

The pharmaceutically acceptable carriers described herein, for example, vehicles, adjuvants, excipients, and diluents; are well-known to those skilled in the art and are readily available to the public. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier can be chemically inert to the active agent(s) and one which has no detrimental side effects or toxicity under the conditions of use. The choice of carrier can be determined in part by the particular therapeutic agent, as well as by the particular method used to administer the therapeutic compound. There are a variety of suitable formulations of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention. The following formulations for oral, aerosol, parenteral, subcutaneous, transdermal, transmucosal, intestinal, intramedullary injections, direct intraventricular, intravenous, intranasal, intraocular, intramuscular, intraarterial, intrathecal, intraperitoneal, rectal, and vaginal administration are exemplary and are in no way limiting. More than one route can be used to administer the therapeutic agent, and in some instances, a particular route can provide a more immediate and more effective response than another route. Depending on the specific disorder being treated, such agents can be formulated and administered systemically or locally. Techniques for formulation and administration may be found in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa. (1990).

Formulations suitable for oral administration can include (a) liquid solutions, such as an effective amount of the inhibitor dissolved in diluents, such as water, saline, or orange juice; (b) capsules, sachets, tablets, lozenges, and troches, each containing a predetermined amount of the active ingredient, as solids or granules; (c) powders; (d) suspensions in an appropriate liquid; and (e) suitable emulsions. Liquid formulations can include diluents, such as water and alcohols, for example, ethanol, benzyl alcohol, and the polyethylene alcohols, either with or without the addition of a pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant. Capsule forms can be of the ordinary hard or soft shelled gelatin type containing, for example, surfactants, lubricants, and inert fillers, such as lactose, sucrose, calcium phosphate, and corn starch. Tablet forms can include one or more of lactose, sucrose, mannitol, corn starch, potato starch, alginic acid, microcrystalline cellulose, acacia, gelatin, guar gum, colloidal silicon dioxide, croscarmellose sodium, talc, magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, zinc stearate, stearic acid, and other excipients, colorants, diluents, buffering agents, disintegrating agents, moistening agents, preservatives, flavoring agents, and other pharmacologically compatible excipients. Lozenge forms can contain the inhibitor in a flavor, usually sucrose and acacia or tragacanth, as well as pastilles containing the inhibitor in an inert base, such as gelatin and glycerin, or sucrose and acacia, emulsions, gels, and the like containing, in addition to, such excipients as are known in the art.

Pharmaceutical preparations that can be used orally include push-fit capsules made of gelatin, as well as soft, sealed capsules made of gelatin and a plasticizer, such as glycerol or sorbitol. The push-fit capsules can contain the active ingredients in admixture with filler such as lactose, binders such as starches, and/or lubricants such as talc or magnesium stearate and, optionally, stabilizers. In soft capsules, the active compounds may be dissolved or suspended in suitable liquids, such as fatty oils, liquid paraffin, or liquid polyethylene glycols. In addition, stabilizers can be added.

The therapeutic agent, alone or in combination with other suitable components, can be made into aerosol formulations to be administered via inhalation. These aerosol formulations can be placed into pressurized acceptable propellants, such as dichlorodifluoromethane, propane, nitrogen, and the like. They also can be formulated as pharmaceuticals for non-pressurized preparations, such as in a nebulizer or an atomizer. Such spray formulations also may be used to spray mucosa. Topical formulations are well known to those of skill in the art. Such formulations are particularly suitable in the context of the invention for application to the skin.

Injectable formulations are in accordance with the present invention. The parameters for effective pharmaceutical carriers for injectable compositions are well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art [see, e.g., Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice, J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa., Banker and Chalmers, eds., pages 238250 (1982), and ASHP Handbook on Injectable Drugs, Toissel, 4th ed., pages 622 630 (1986)]. For injection, the agents of the present invention can be formulated in aqueous solutions, preferably in physiologically compatible buffers such as Hanks's solution, Ringer's solution, or physiological saline buffer. For such transmucosal administration, penetrants appropriate to the barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Such penetrants are generally known in the art.

Formulations suitable for parenteral administration can include aqueous and non-aqueous, isotonic sterile injection solutions, which can contain anti-oxidants, buffers, bacteriostats, and solutes that render the formulation isotonic with the blood of the intended recipient, and aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions that can include suspending agents, solubilizers, thickening agents, stabilizers, and preservatives. The therapeutic agent can be administered in a physiologically acceptable diluent in a pharmaceutical carrier, such as a sterile liquid or mixture of liquids, including water, saline, aqueous dextrose and related sugar solutions, an alcohol, such as ethanol or hexadecyl alcohol, a glycol, such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol, poly(ethyleneglycol) 400, glycerol, dimethylsulfoxide, ketals such as 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol, ethers, oils, fatty acids, fatty acid esters or glycerides, or acetylated fatty acid glycerides with or without the addition of a pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant, such as a soap or a detergent, suspending agent, such as pectin, carbomers, methylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, or carboxymethyl-cellulose, or emulsifying agents and other pharmaceutical adjuvants.

Oils, which can be used in parenteral formulations, include petroleum, animal, vegetable, or synthetic oils. Specific examples of oils include peanut, soybean, sesame, cottonseed, corn, olive, petrolatum, and mineral. Suitable fatty acids for use in parenteral formulations include oleic acid, stearic acid, and isostearic acid. Ethyl oleate and isopropyl myristate are examples of suitable fatty acid esters.

Suitable soaps for use in parenteral formulations include fatty alkali metal, ammonium, and triethanolamine salts, and suitable detergents include (a) cationic detergents such as, for example, dimethyl dialkyl ammonium halides, and alkyl pyridinium halides, (b) anionic detergents such as, for example, alkyl, aryl, and olefin sulfonates, alkyl, olefin, ether, and monoglyceride sulfates, and sulfosuccinates, (c) nonionic detergents such as, for example, fatty amine oxides, fatty acid alkanolamides, and polyoxyethylenepolypropylene copolymers, (d) amphoteric detergents such as, for example, alkyl-beta-aminopropionates, and 2-alkyl-imidazoline quaternary ammonium salts, and (e) mixtures thereof.

The parenteral formulations can contain from about 0.5% to about 25% by weight of the drug in solution. Preservatives and buffers can be used. In order to minimize or eliminate irritation at the site of injection, such compositions may contain one or more nonionic surfactants having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of from about 12 to about 17. The quantity of surfactant in such formulations will typically range from about 5% to about 15% by weight. Suitable surfactants include polyethylene glycol sorbitan fatty acid esters, such as sorbitan monooleate and the high molecular weight adducts of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base, formed by the condensation of propylene oxide with propylene glycol. The parenteral formulations can be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose sealed containers, such as ampoules and vials, and can be stored in a freeze-dried (lyophilized) condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid excipient, for example, water, for injections, immediately prior to use. Extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions can be prepared from sterile powders, granules, and tablets of the kind previously described.

The therapeutic agent can be made into suppositories by mixing with a variety of bases, such as emulsifying bases or water-soluble bases. Formulations suitable for vaginal administration can be presented as pessaries, tampons, creams, gels, pastes, foams, or spray formulas containing, in addition to the active ingredient, such carriers as are known in the art to be appropriate.

Agents intended to be administered intracellularly may be administered using techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, such agents can be encapsulated into liposomes. Liposomes are spherical lipid bilayers with aqueous interiors. Molecules present in an aqueous solution at the time of liposome formation are incorporated into the aqueous interior. The liposomal contents are both protected from the external microenvironment and, because liposomes fuse with cell membranes, are efficiently delivered into the cell cytoplasm. Additionally, due to their hydrophobicity, small organic molecules may be directly administered intracellularly. Materials and methods described for one aspect of the present invention can also be employed in other aspects of the present invention. For example, a material such a nucleic acid or antibody described for use in screening assays can also be employed as therapeutic agents and vice versa.

The present invention includes the following aspects/embodiments/features in any order and/or in any combination:

1. The present invention relates to an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or an antigen-binding fragment thereof comprising a neutralization activity against a human influenza B virus, wherein the monoclonal antibody comprises a human monoclonal antibody or a humanized monoclonal antibody.

2. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof has a neutralization activity against at least a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, and a B/Mie/1/1993 strain.

3. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof has a neutralization activity against at least a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and a B/Victoria/2/1987 strain.

4. The anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the human monoclonal antibody is produced by a hybridoma made by fusing a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from a human being having an influenza B virus infection with a fusion partner cell capable of efficient cell fusion.

5. The anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the influenza B virus comprises at least one of a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and a B/Victoria/2/1987 strain.

6. The anti-human influenza B virus human monoclonal antibody of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the fusion partner cell is a SPYMEG cell.

7. The anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect comprising an IgG, a Fab, a Fab′, a F(ab′)2, a scFv, or a dsFv.

8. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, comprising:

a heavy chain variable region comprising

a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having a first amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 1, 7, or 13,

a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having a second amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 2, 8, or 14, and

a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having a third amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 3, 9, or 15, and

a light chain variable region comprising

a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having a fourth amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 4, 10, or 16;

a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having a fifth amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 5, 11, or 17, and

a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having a sixth amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 6, 12, or 18.

9. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the first amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 1, the second amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 2, the third amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 3, the fourth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 4, the fifth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 5, and the sixth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 6.

10. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody comprises antibody 5A7.

11. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the first amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 7, the second amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 8, the third amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 9, the fourth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 10, the fifth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 11, and the sixth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 12.

12. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody comprises antibody 3A2.

13. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the first amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 13, the second amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 14, the third amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 15, the fourth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 16, the fifth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 17, and the sixth amino acid sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 18.

14. The anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody comprises antibody 10C4.

15. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect and a pharmacologically acceptable carrier.

16. A kit for at least one of the prevention, the treatment, and the detection of human influenza B in a human subject comprising the anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect.

17. A method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of the anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect to the human subject.

18. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, further comprising diagnosing the patient with an influenza B infection.

19. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, further comprising monitoring for a decrease in at least one symptom of an influenza B infection.

20. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the at least one symptom comprises fever, headache, fatigue, chills, malaise, myalgia, arthralgia, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, respiratory distress, or stomach pain, or any combination thereof.

21. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of claim 1 is administered in combination with one or more additional therapies directed to influenza B.

22. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the combination acts synergistically to inhibit or treat the influenza B infection.

23. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the one or more additional therapies comprise a neuraminidase inhibitor, a hemagglutinin inhibitor, an anti-inflammatory agent, or any combination thereof.

24. The method of inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the neuraminidase inhibitor comprises zanamivir, oseltamivir, peramivir, laninamivir, any pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or any combination thereof.

25. Use of the anti-human influenza B virus human monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect to manufacture a medicament for inhibiting or treating a human influenza B infection in a human subject.

26. A method of detecting human influenza B in a human subject comprising; contacting a sample from the human subject with the anti-human influenza B virus antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect; and

detecting the presence or absence of a human influenza B virus in the human subject based on whether the antibody binds a hemagglutinin (HA) protein of the human influenza B virus.

27. A method for producing an anti-human influenza B virus human monoclonal antibody comprising:

producing a hybridoma by fusing a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from a human being having an influenza B virus infection with a fusion partner cell capable of efficient cell fusion; and

obtaining an anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody from the hybridoma.

28. The method for producing an anti-human influenza B virus human monoclonal antibody of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the influenza B virus comprises at least one of a B/Florida/4/2006 strain, a B/Shanghai/361/2002 strain, a B/Johannesburg/5/1999 strain, a B/Yamanashi/166/1998 strain, a B/Mie/1/1993 strain, a B/Malaysia/2506/04 strain, a B/Shandong/7/1997 strain, and B/Victoria/2/1987 strain.

29. The method for producing an anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect, wherein the fusion partner cell is a SPYMEG cell.

30. An anti-human influenza virus human monoclonal antibody produced by the method of any preceding or following embodiment/feature/aspect.

The present invention can include any combination of these various features or embodiments above and/or below as set forth in sentences and/or paragraphs. Any combination of disclosed features herein is considered part of the present invention and no limitation is intended with respect to combinable features.

The present invention will be further clarified by the following examples, which are intended to be exemplary of, but not limiting, the present invention. Human materials were collected using protocols approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University (#19-8-6). Animal studies were conducted under the applicable laws and guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals in the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University. They were approved by the Animal Experiment Committee of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University (#H21-24-0), as specified in the Fundamental Guidelines for the Proper Conduct of Animal Experiment and Related Activities in Academic Research Institutions under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, 2006. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Dr. Shin-ichi Tamura (the National Institute of Infectious Diseases) provided viral strains. Natsuko Fukura, Azusa Asai, Tadahiro Sasaki, and Yohei Watanabe provided helpful advice and technical assistance. Data are expressed as the means+ or −standard errors of the means (SEM). Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t test. A P value of <0.05 was considered significant.

Eight influenza B vaccine strains (B/Victoria/2/1987, B/Mie/1/1993, B/Shandong/7/1997, B/Yamanashi/166/1998, B/Johannesburg/5/1999, B/Shanghai/361/2002, B/Malaysia/2506/2004, and B/Florida/4/2006) and the mouse-adapted strain B/Ibaraki/2/1985 were used. The B/Malaysia/2506/2004 and B/Florida/4/2006 strains were kindly provided by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. Mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 strain was provided by Dr. S. Tamura, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (Chen et al., Vaccine 19:1446-1455). Viruses were propagated either in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells or in 9-day-old embryonated chicken eggs. Infectivity was titrated by focus-forming assay.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be further clarified by the following examples, which are intended to be exemplary of, but not limiting, the present invention.

Example 1

Human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs) were prepared in accordance with the procedure described in Kubota-Koketsu et al., Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 387:180-185 (2009). Healthy volunteers were vaccinated with the HA split vaccine including A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1), A/Uruguay/716/2007 (H3N2), and B/Florida/4/2006 strains. One to two weeks later, the vaccine-derived PBMCs were fused with SPYMEG cells and after screening and cloning, three hybridoma clones producing HuMAbs, designated 5A7, 3A2, and 10C4, were established. The reactivity of the HuMAbs was tested by IFA and Western blotting.

Briefly, 10 ml blood was drawn from a healthy volunteer vaccinated in the 2008/2009 winter season with trivalent HA split vaccine, which included A/Brisbane/59/2007, A/Uruguay/716/2007, and B/Florida/4/2006 (The Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University, Kagawa, Japan), and then the PBMCs were collected by density gradient centrifugation through Ficoll-Paque Plus (GE Healthcare, Uppsala, Sweden). SPYMEG cells, established from mouse myeloma cell line SP2/0-Ag14 and human megakaryoblastic cell line MEG-01, were used as fusion partner cells. SPYMEG cells are non-secretors of human and murine immunoglobulin. The PBMCs were fused with SPYMEG cells using polyethylene glycol #1500 (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). The fused cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM; Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum and hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine. The first screening for MAb specific for influenza viruses was performed by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). For the IFA, the infected cells were fixed with absolute ethanol and then reacted with hybridoma supernatant for 30 min at 37 deg C., followed by incubation with FITC-conjugated anti-human IgG for 45 min at 37 deg C. The cells in the specific MAb-positive wells were cloned by limiting dilution, then followed by a second screening by IFA. Hybridoma cells taken from IFA-positive wells that had a single colony per well were cultured and expanded in Hybridoma-SFM (Invitrogen). MAb was purified from 100 ml hybridoma culture supernatant by affinity chromatography using HiTrap Protein G HP Columns (GE Healthcare) and then dialyzed into phosphate buffered saline (PBS) using Slide-A-Lyzer® Dialysis Cassettes (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, Mass.).

For IgG isotyping, ELISA microplates (Maxsorp; Nunc, Copenhagen, Denmark) were coated overnight at 4 deg C. with goat anti-human IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc, West Grove, Pa.) in 0.05 M sodium bicarbonate buffer (pH 8.6). After washing with PBS including 0.1% Tween-20, the wells were blocked with 0.5% BSA in PBS for 1 hour at 37 deg C. After washing again, the wells were incubated with hybridoma supernatants or control serum for 2 hours at 37 deg C. Following further washing, the wells were incubated with HRP-conjugated anti-human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 (SouthernBiotech, Birmingham, Ala.) for 1 hour at 37 deg C. The wells were washed five times followed by incubation with TMB peroxidase substrate (KPL, Gaithersburg, Md.) at room temperature in the dark. After 20 minutes, the reaction was stopped with 2N H2SO4 solution. The color development was read at 450 nm in an ELISA Photometer (Biotek ELISA Reader; Biotek, Winooski, Vt.). All samples were run in triplicate.

For the sequencing of HuMAb variable regions, total RNA extracted from the hybridoma using an RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen) was subjected to RT-PCR using a PrimeScript RT reagent Kit (Takara, Shiga, Japan) with an oligo (dT) primer. The coding region of the H- and L-chains of HuMAb was amplified by PCR with the following primers: 5′-ATGGAGTTTGGGCTGAGCTGGGTT-3′ (H-chain-forward) (SEQ ID NO. 19) and 5′-CTCCCGCGGCTTTGTCTTGGCATTA-3′ (H-chain-reverse) (SEQ ID NO. 20); and 5′-ATGGCCTGGRYCYCMYTCYWCCTM-3′ (L-chain-forward) (SEQ ID NO. 21) and 5′-TGGCAGCTGTAGCTTCTGTGGGACT-3′ (L-chain-reverse) (SEQ ID NO. 22). PCR products were ligated into pGEM-T Easy Vector (Promega) and their sequences were analyzed using a BigDye Terminator v3.1 Cycle Sequencing Kit and an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.).

IgG plasmids were constructed using T Easy Vectors with the variable region gene of H- and L-chains were subjected to PCR to add restriction enzyme sites and a Kozak sequence with the following primer sets (restriction enzyme sites are underlined): 5′-ATTTGCGGCCGCCATGGAGTTTGGGCTGAG-3′ (HC_(—)5Fw_NotI; H-chain-forward) (SEQ ID NO. 23) and 5′-ATACTCGAGGGTGCCAGGGGGAAGACCGATG-3′ (HC_Reverse_XhoI; H-chain-reverse) (SEQ ID NO. 24); and 5′-ATTTGCGGCCGCCATGGCCTGGGCTCTGCT-3′ (5A7Lambda_(—)18 Fw_NotI; L-chain-forward) (SEQ ID NO. 25) and 5′-ATACTCGAGGGCGGGAACAGAGTGACCGTGG-3′ (Lambda_Reverse_XhoI; L-chain-reverse) (SEQ ID NO. 26). PCR products of the coding region of H- and L-chains were digested by restriction enzymes, Not I and Xho I, and then ligated to expression vectors, pQCXIP-hCH and pQCXIH-hC lambda, which have a human immunoglobulin-constant region of gamma and lambda chains (MBL), respectively.

All of three HuMAbs reacted with the HA protein in influenza B virus (Table 1). HuMAbs, 5A7 and 10C4 were IgG1 isotype, and 3A2 was IgG3 (Table 1). Sequencing analysis of the V_(H) and V_(L) region of the three HuMAbs revealed that each had different amino acid residues in antigenic regions including the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) (Tables 2 and 3).

TABLE 1 Table 1: Pattern of Reactivity of HuMAbs. Target Isotype IFA Reducing WB 5A7 HA of influenza B IgG1 +¹ + 3A2 HA of influenza B IgG3 + − ² 10C4 HA of influenza B IgG1 + − ¹Positive result ² Negative result

TABLE 2 Table 2: Deduced Amino Acid Sequences of CDRs in the V_(H) of three HuMAbs. SEQ. SEQ. SEQ. ID ID ID V_(H) CDR1 No. CDR2 No. CDR3 No. 5A7 NYGMH 1 VVWYDGLIKY 2 DLQPPHSPYGM 3 YADSVKG DV 3A2 SYYWS 7 YVYNSGSTR 8 APDDYYDSVGYY 9 YNPSLKS YGCPYFDS 10C4 NYAMS 13 AISGGGDWT 14 DVTYLYDSSGYY 15 YYADSVKG YGGADRDYYFDY

TABLE 3 Table 3: Deduced Amino Acid Sequences of CDRs in the Y_(L) of three HuMAbs. SEQ. SEQ. SEQ. ID ID ID V_(L) CDR1 No. CDR2 No. CDR3 No. 5A7 SGSSSNI 4 NNNQRPS 5 AAWDDSLTVS 6 GSNDVY 3A2 RASPSIA 10 GASTRAT 11 QQYSNWPRT 12 DNLA 10C4 SGGSSNI 16 SNNQRPL 17 QQWDDSLNGWV 18 GSNYVN

The neutralizing activities of HuMAbs were determined as follows. The virus neutralization (VN) assay was carried out in accordance with Okuno et al. 28:1308-1313 (1990), with minor modification. MAb at a concentration of 100 mcg/ml was serially diluted four-fold with Minimum Essential Medium (MEM; Invitrogen) and incubated with 200 focus-forming units (FFU) of viruses at 37 C. for 1 hour. Then, MDCK cells were adsorbed with the mixtures at 37 C. for 1 hour. After incubation for 12 hours, the cells were fixed and subjected to IFA. The lowest concentration of MAb that inhibited 50% of viral growth was designated the VN₅₀ titer. In the focus formation assay, MDCK cells in a 96-well plate were adsorbed with viruses diluted serially 10-fold at 37 deg C. for 1 hour. The cells were then washed with PBS and incubated at 37 deg C. for 12 hours. The cells were fixed and subjected to IFA.

VN assays were performed with the three HuMAbs. HuMAb 5A7 had a lower VN₅₀ (6.25 to 25 mcg/ml) compared with 3A2 and 10C4; however, 5A7 neutralized the Yamagata and Victoria lineages isolated during 1985 to 2006. HuMAbs 3A2 and 10C4 had a VN₅₀ of 0.02 to 6.25 mcg/ml for Yamagata lineage, whereas they hardly neutralized any Victoria lineage except mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985, which was neutralized slightly by 3A2 (Table 4). To clarify the mechanism of neutralization by the three HuMAbs, HI and fusion inhibition assays were also performed. In the hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) assay, viral titers were determined with a hemagglutination assay. Briefly, the viruses were serially diluted two-fold with PBS and mixed with 0.7% (v/v) human O-type red blood cells. After incubation at room temperature for 1 hour, hemagglutination units (HAUs) were estimated. Next, HI titration was performed as follows. MAb at a concentration of 100 mcg/ml was serially diluted two-fold and mixed with 8 HAU per 50 l of viral sample. After incubation at 37 C. for 1 hour, the mixtures were further incubated with 0.7% (v/v) human red blood cells for 1 hour at room temperature. The lowest concentration of MAb that completely inhibited hemagglutination was designated the HI titer.

For the fusion inhibition assay, cell-cell fusion was accomplished as described previously (Okuno et al., Journal of Virology 67:2552-2558). Briefly, monkey kidney cell line CV-1 cells were infected with B/Florida/4/2006 at an MOI of 0.3. After incubation for 24 hours, the cells were washed with MEM and then incubated for 15 min at 37 deg C. in MEM supplemented with 2.5 mcg/ml of acetylated trypsin (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.). After washing, the cells were incubated for 30 min with diluted HuMAbs. Thereafter, the cells were treated for 2 min at 37 deg C. with MEM supplemented with 10 mM MES and 10 mM HEPES (pH 5.5). After the medium was completely removed by washing, the cells were incubated for 3 hours. Then they were fixed with absolute methanol and stained with Giemsa (Wako, Osaka, Japan).

TABLE 4 Table 4. Characterization of HuMAbs HuMAb 5A7 3A2 10C4 VN₅₀ (μg/ml)¹ Yamagata lineage B/Florida/4/2006 6.25 0.10 0.39 B/Shanghai/361/2002 6.25 6.25 0.39 R/Johannesburg/5/1999 6.25 0.10 0.39 B/Yamanashi/166/1998 6.25 0.10 0.39 B/Mie/1/1993 6.25 0.10 0.39 Victoria lineage B/Malaysia/2506/2004 6.25 >100 >100 B/Shandong/7/1997 25 >100 >100 B/Victria/2/1987 25 >100 >100 Mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 25 100 >100 HI (μg/ml)² B/Florida/4/2006 25 0.39 0.39 Fusion inhibition (μg/ml)³ B/Florida/4/2006 100 25 25 ¹The results are shown as the lowest concentrations of purified HuMAbs that inhibited 50% of viral growth in vitro. ²The results are shown as the lowest concentrations of purified HuMAbs that completely inhibited hemagglutination. ³The results are shown as the lowest concentrations of purified HuMAbs that showed cell fusion inhibition.

Accordingly, all three HuMAbs had HI activity and also inhibited cell-cell fusion (Table 4). However, 3A2 and 10C4 showed markedly higher HI titers (0.39 mcg/ml) than 5A7 (25 mcg/ml). These results indicate that all three HuMAbs should inhibit viral binding to the cell membrane.

Example 2

To determine the epitope regions of B/Florida/4/2006 recognized by the three HuMAbs, escape mutants were selected. The escape mutants were selected by the incubation of B/Florida/4/2006 with HuMAbs. Escape mutants were selected by culturing B/Florida/4/2006 in the presence of MAb as described previously (Gulati et al., Journal of Virology 76:12274-12280), with minor modification. Viruses were incubated with MAb serially diluted 10-fold (to give final concentrations of 0.0025 to 2.5 mcg/ml) at 37 C. for 1 hour. Then MDCK cells were inoculated with the mixtures and cultured in DMEM/F-12+GlutaMAX™-I supplemented with 0.4% BSA, antibiotics, and 2 mcg/ml acetylated trypsin. After culturing for 72 hours, the supernatants were collected and subjected to VN and HI assays. Those viral samples that showed a reduced VN₅₀ and HI titer were subjected to direct sequencing analysis of the entire HA gene.

Direct sequencing analysis was performed as follows. Viral RNA extracted with QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) was subjected to one step RT-PCR (Superscript™ III One-Step RT-PCR System with Platinum® Taq High Fidelity; Invitrogen) with the following HA primer set: 5′-CAGAATTCATGAAGGCAATAATTGTACTAC-3′ forward (SEQ ID NO. 27) and 5′-CTCCGCGGCCGCTTATAGACAGATGGAGCATGAAACG-3′ reverse (SEQ ID NO: 28). The PCR products were purified with Qiaquick PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen). After electrophoresis, the discrete band was extracted using the Qiaquick Gel Extraction Kit (Qiagen) and sequenced.

HA plasmids were constructed as follows. The HA gene of B/Florida/4/2006 was amplified by one step RT-PCR and inserted into the pGEM-T Easy Vector (Promega, Madison, Wis.). Mutant and truncated HA genes were generated by site-directed mutagenic PCR (GeneTailor™ Site-Directed Mutagenesis System; Invitrogen) and conventional PCR (Expand High Fidelity^(PLUS) PCR System; Roche), respectively, using the HA plasmid of B/Florida/4/2006 inserted into pGEM-T easy vector. Each of the plasmids was subcloned into the expression vector pCAGGS/MCSII (Ueda et al., Journal of Virology 84: 3068-3078). The expression plasmids were transfected into human embryonic kidney 293T cells with lipofectamine2000 (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The amino acid sequences of the HA protein in the escape mutants were compared with the original B/Florida/4/2006. Asterisks in FIG. 1 indicate the amino acid residues different between the original virus and the escape mutants. Interestingly, each escape mutant of 3A2 and 10C4 had amino acid substitutions at identical positions 194D and 196T; amino acid numbering was started after the signal peptide (Wang et al., Journal of Virology 82:3011-3020). These positions are located at the 190-helix antigenic site near the receptor-binding site (Wang et al., Journal of Virology 82:3011-3020). Remarkably, in the presence of serially diluted 5A7, escape mutants were not established even after the virus was passaged ten times, implying that the amino acid sequence recognized by 5A7 was essential for viral survival. HuMAb 5A7 reacted to the HA0 protein by Western blotting under reducing conditions, suggesting that 5A7 had a sequential epitope. Thus, the epitope region of 5A7 was further investigated using HA truncation vectors containing HA segments of varying length. Western blotting with 5A7 was carried out on 293T cells transfected with the truncated HA expression vectors. HuMAb 5A7 reacted with truncated HA segments that included amino acid residues 1 to 324 but not to those with residues 1 to 314 (FIG. 2). These results indicate that 5A7 recognizes amino acid residues between 315 to 324, IGNCPIWVKT (SEQ. ID NO. 44) in the HA protein, which locates near the C terminal of the HA1 protein. Notably, this region is a highly conserved domain in influenza B viruses.

Example 3

HuMAb 3A2 showed low reactivity against B/Shanghai/361/2002 and was therefore examined for an additional distinct epitope region. To do this, various chimeric sequences of HA were constructed from B/Florida/4/2006 and B/Shanghai/361/2002, which differ at seven residues (positions 37, 40, 88, 131, 227, 249, 456), expressed in plasmids, and transfected into 293T cells. IFA of the chimeric HA proteins expressed in 293T cells showed that 131P and 227S were essential for the reaction with 3A2 (FIG. 3). These results indicate that the epitope of 3A2 is dependent on residues at positions 131, 194, 196, and 227, and the epitope of 10C4 is dependent on residues at positions 194 and 196. The epitope regions to which the three HuMAbs map are shown in a HA trimer three-dimensional model in FIG. 4. HuMAbs 3A2 and 10C4 recognized the top of the globular head including the 190-helix antigenic site, whereas 5A7 reacted with the stalk region distant from the viral membrane.

HuMAb, 5A7 recognizes the stalk region of the HA protein, as do almost all broadly neutralizing MAbs for influenza A viruses. The amino acid sequence in the stalk region is highly conserved, implying that the amino acid residues would not easily mutate. Indeed, the amino acid residues in the epitope region did not mutate even when the virus was passaged ten times under 5A7-treatment conditions, whereas mutants developed quickly in the presence of 3A2 or 10C4. Failure to establish escape mutants in the presence of 5A7 is an advantage for this HuMAb as a therapeutic candidate. Although 5A7 reacted with both of Yamagata and Victoria lineages, the concentration required for VN₅₀ was higher than those of 3A2 and 10C4. Such results can be explained by either a difference in binding affinity or in physical accessibility of HuMAbs to the epitope region. Although binding affinity was not examined in this study, accessibility can be estimated using epitope mapping. HuMAbs 3A2 and 10C4 recognized the 190-helix site distant from the viral membrane, whereas the epitope region of 5A7 localized to the stalk region, indicating that 5A7 would have more difficulty physically accessing the HA protein. Modification of the HuMAb structure and improvement of binding affinity should lead to the development of better therapeutic antibodies.

MAbs recognizing the globular head show strong HI activity, whereas those against the stalk region usually do not show any. Thus, it is considered that MAbs against the globular head inhibit the receptor binding step and that MAbs against the stalk region inhibit the fusion step in viral replication. The HuMAbs that recognize the 190-helix in the globular head near the receptor binding site, 3A2 and 10C4, did in fact have strong HI activities, suggesting that these HuMAbs inhibited binding to the receptor. Surprisingly, 5A7 also showed weak HI activity, implying that 5A7 would also inhibit the binding step. It would be attributed that 5A7 recognizes the stalk region distal from the viral membrane, whereas MAbs that do not show HI activity recognize a more proximal position of the stalk. All three HuMAbs also showed fusion inhibition activity. HuMAbs bound to the HA protein could secondarily disturb the structural change of HA depending on low pH.

Example 4

The activity of 5A7 as a passive transfer therapy in influenza B viral infection was examined in mice. In the passive transfer experiments, before infection, mice were anesthetized by intraperitoneal administration of pentobarbital sodium (Somnopentyl; Kyoritsu Seiyaku Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). Six-week old female BALB/c mice from Japan SLC Inc. were used. Mice were given 5, 10, or 15 mg/kg HuMAb intraperitoneally at 4, 24, 48, or 72 hours after challenge with 25 mcl (microliter) mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 virus at a lethal dose (2.5×10⁴ FFU/mouse). Mice were weighed daily and sacrificed if they fell to 60% of starting weight. To titrate the viruses in the infected lungs, B/Ibaraki/2/1985 or B/Florida/4/2006 were infected at 2.5×10⁴ or 5.0×10³ FFU/mouse, respectively. The lungs were harvested 3 and 6 days post-infection and virus titers in lung homogenates were determined by focus-forming assay.

Mice were treated intraperitoneally with 5, 10, or 15 mg/kg 5A7 at 4 hours post-challenge with a lethal dose of mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985. Survival rate and weight change were checked daily and when the body weight had dropped to less than 60% of starting weight, mice were sacrificed. Complete therapeutic efficacy against the virus was seen with each dose of 5A7 tested (FIG. 5). The weight change was particularly mild in the groups treated with 5A7 at 10 or 15 mg/kg (FIG. 6). In mice treated with 10 mg/kg 5A7, the viral load in the lungs was titrated three and six days post-infection with mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 or B/Florida/4/2006. The viral titers were significantly lower in 5A7-treated mice compared to untreated controls for both viral infections (FIG. 7). Finally, mice were given 5A7 at 10 mg/kg intraperitoneally at 4, 24, 48, or 72 hours post-challenge with a lethal dose of mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985, and the survival rate and weight change were monitored. When injected four hours post-infection, 5A7 treatment showed complete therapeutic efficacy. Notably, most of the mice were alive in the 5A7-treated group at 24 hours post-infection. Moreover, several mice survived even after treatment with 5A7 more than 48 hours post-infection (FIGS. 8 and 9). These results indicate that 5A7 has the potential for development as a therapy against influenza B viral infection.

Mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 was used to examine the kinetics of survival rate and weight change in the passive transfer experiments as other viral strains are not lethal to mice even if passaged several times in vivo. HuMAb 5A7 protected mice against mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 challenge even when administered 72 hours post-infection, although 5A7 had shown the lowest sensitivity to mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 in vitro. These results suggested that 5A7 would have therapeutic efficacy against a wide spectrum of influenza B viruses, and in fact the lung viral titers of both mouse-adapted B/Ibaraki/2/1985 and B/Florida/4/2006 were reduced significantly under 5A7-treatment conditions.

Example 5

The neutralizing efficacy of CHO-K1-derived 5A7 was examined in vitro. 5A7 was synthesized in CHO-K1 cells and examined for neutralizing efficacy against influenza B viruses. CHO-K1 cells were transfected with full-length variable region genes of 5A7 in the pQC vector to establish a stable cell line secreting 5A7 (5A7/CHO-K1). For stable expression using mammalian cells, CHO-K1 cells were cultured in 5% CO₂ at 37 deg C. in DMEM containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Cells grown on 6-well plates (Corning, Corning, N.Y.) were used for transfection with pQCXIP-hCH and pQCXIH-hC lambda expression vectors using Lipofectamine2000 transfection reagent (Invitrogen). Transfected cells were incubated in 5% CO₂ at 37 deg C. in DMEM with 1 mcg/ml of puromycin and 100 mcg/ml of hygromycin for 3 weeks. Cells were then replated to 15-cm dishes (Corning) and incubated, and colonies were picked and cultured as putative cell lines stably expressing IgG. The transformants at 90% confluence on 15-cm dishes had the medium changed to serum-free Nutrient Mixture F-12 Ham's (Sigma), cells were then cultured in 5% CO₂ at 37 deg C. for 1 week. Recombinant IgGs were purified from culture medium using HiTrap Protein G HP Columns. The purified IgGs were dialyzed against PBS and then concentrated using an Amicon Ultra Centrifugal Filter (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.). In vitro viral neutralization tests were performed using purified 5A7/CHO-K1, and neutralizing activity was found against both the viral strains examined (B/Florida/4/2006 and B/Malaysia/2506/2004). Notably, the neutralizing activity of 5A7/CHO-K1 was similar to that of 5A7 produced by the hybridoma (FIG. 10).

Example 6

HuMabs 5A7, 3A2 and 10C4 were subjected to surface plasmon resonance analysis to examine their binding affinities. Each HuMab was immobilized on the surface of the sensor chip. The vaccine antigen, Ha protein of B/Florida/4/2006, at concentrations 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 nM was consecutively injected on the chip surface and the association and dissociation phases were monitored. KD value could not be calculated for 5A7 precisely as it was difficult to dissociate from HA (Table 5).

TABLE 5 Kinetic constants of HuMAbs binding to influenza B virus-derived HA. kon¹ (S⁻¹) koff² (M⁻¹S⁻¹) K_(D) (M) 5A7 1.8 × 10³ <1.0 × 10⁻⁵  <5.6 × 10⁻⁹  3A2 5.3 × 10⁴ 2.1 × 10⁻⁵  4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ 10C4 1.6 × 10⁴ 2.8 × 10⁻⁵ 1.8 × 10⁻⁹ ¹Association rate constant. ²Dissociation rate constant.

Sequences of the V_(H) and V_(L) region of the three HuMAbs were compared and analyzed to the closest germline sequences using IgBlast software in NCBI database. These three HuMAbs were derived from different germ lines except D region V_(H) of 3A2 and 10C4 (FIG. 11-13).

REFERENCES

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Applicants specifically incorporate the entire contents of all cited references in this disclosure. Further, when an amount, concentration, or other value or parameter is given as either a range, preferred range, or a list of upper preferable values and lower preferable values, this is to be understood as specifically disclosing all ranges formed from any pair of any upper range limit or preferred value and any lower range limit or preferred value, regardless of whether ranges are separately disclosed. Where a range of numerical values is recited herein, unless otherwise stated, the range is intended to include the endpoints thereof, and all integers and fractions within the range. It is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific values recited when defining a range.

Other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the present specification and practice of the present invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the present specification and examples be considered as exemplary only with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims and equivalents thereof. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. An anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, comprising: a heavy chain variable region comprising: a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 1; a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 2; and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 3; and a light chain variable region comprising: a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 4; a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 5; and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:
 6. 2. An anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, comprising: a heavy chain variable region comprising: a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 7; a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:8; and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 9; and a light chain variable region comprising: a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 10; a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 11; and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:
 12. 3. An anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, comprising: a heavy chain variable region comprising: a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:13; a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 14; and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:15; and a light chain variable region comprising: a first complementarity determining region (CDR1) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 16; a second complementarity determining region (CDR2) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 17; and a third complementarity determining region (CDR3) having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:
 18. 4. An anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, which has a neutralization activity against a human influenza B virus and recognizes the amino acid residues of an hemagglutinin (HA) protein at positions corresponding to any one of the following positions (i) and (ii): (i) position 315 to 324 of SEQ ID NO: 29; and (ii) positions 131, 194, 196 and 227 of SEQ ID NO:
 29. 5. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1 to 3 and 4, and a pharmacologically acceptable carrier.
 6. A kit for at least one of the prevention, the treatment, and the detection of human influenza B in a human subject comprising the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1 to 3 and
 4. 7. A method of treating or preventing human influenza B virus infection in a human subject, comprising administering to the human subject an effective amount of the anti-human influenza B virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1 to 3 and
 4. 8. A method of detecting human influenza B in a human subject comprising; contacting a sample from the human subject with the anti-human influenza B virus antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1 to 3 and 4; and detecting the presence or absence of a human influenza B virus in the human subject based on whether the antibody binds a hemagglutinin (HA) protein of the human influenza B virus.
 9. A DNA which encodes the anti-human influenza virus monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1 to 3 and
 4. 10. A method for producing an anti-human influenza B virus human monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof comprising: placing the DNA of claim 9 into an expression vector, transfecting the vector into a host cell, and synthesizing the monoclonal antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof in the host cell. 